ABOUT
Esin Aydingoz is a GRAMMY®-nominated conductor, composer, and arranger whose work connects storytelling with the power of live orchestral performance. Originally from Istanbul, Türkiye, she has built an international career across film, television, animation, video games, and the concert stage, conducting orchestras throughout North America, Europe, and Asia.
Personally selected by Academy Award-winning composer Justin Hurwitz to conduct La La Land in Concert internationally, Aydingoz has led the production across three continents with ensembles including the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, and Taipei Philharmonic Orchestra. She serves as Music Director and Conductor for the North American tours of Disney/Pixar’s Coco: Live-to-Film Concert with Orquesta Folclórica Nacional de México. Her live-to-picture credits also include both the animated and live-action versions of The Lion King, the Latin American premiere of Demon Slayer in Concert, How to Train Your Dragon Live in Concert with the Seattle Symphony, and Video Games Live. She has led the Oregon Symphony from the piano and will make her Carnegie Hall conducting debut in December 2026 with The Holiday in Concert, followed by engagements as principal conductor for Wicked in Concert, launching in 2027.
Her work in the recording studio includes conducting the score for the IMAX documentary Running Wild: Return to the River, narrated by Liam Neeson with music by Alex Heffes, and leading string sessions for three-time GRAMMY® winner Ricky Kej’s album GANDHI: Mantras for Compassion. Her experience on both sides of the podium - as a composer and as a conductor - shapes an approach grounded in musical detail, collaboration, and a close understanding of how music serves a story.
Aydingoz earned a 2024 GRAMMY® nomination for her cello arrangement of The Rolling Stones’ “Paint It Black” for Netflix’s Wednesday, which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Classical Charts. She returned to the series to co-write the Nevermore Alma Mater for its second season. Her debut feature score, Simchas and Sorrows, earned a Society of Composers & Lyricists David Raksin Award nomination for Emerging Talent, and she composed the score for the Hulu feature She Taught Love. Her additional music credits include Apple TV+’s SEE, Netflix’s The Witcher: Blood Origin and Princess Power, and Hallmark’s One Summer and The Presence of Love.
A longstanding collaborator with Disney, Aydingoz currently serves as Music Director for Disney Concerts’ Candlelight series, produced with Fever, and previously served as Assistant Music Director for Disney’s vocal group DCappella. Her work with Disney also encompasses arranging, producing, and recording piano for its Peaceful Piano albums, recording for High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, creating and performing the orchestral centerpiece for Disney+ Türkiye’s inaugural launch event, and contributing to Disney Concerts productions at the Hollywood Bowl.
As a concert composer, Aydingoz has conducted her own works with the Royal Bangkok Symphony Orchestra and Istanbul Film Music Orchestra. Her music has been performed at Carnegie Hall, Louvre Abu Dhabi, Auditorium Stravinski, National Taichung Theater, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, among other venues. She represented Türkiye at the United Nations Symphony Orchestra’s Global Women in Music concert and has received commissions from the Turkish American Orchestra, San Gabriel Valley Symphony, and Los Angeles Contemporary Orchestra. Her projects also include interactive youth concerts for the Istanbul Music Festival, reimagining Bach’s cello suites for cellist Yusuf Çelik, and arrangements for the National Youth Ballet of Germany.
A Berklee College of Music alumna, Aydingoz later became the youngest Assistant Chair in the history of its Screen Scoring Department and now teaches in Berklee Online’s graduate film scoring program. She serves on the boards of the Society of Composers & Lyricists, Alliance for Women Film Composers, and Turkish American Orchestra, and is a voting member of The Recording Academy. Through performance, education, and advocacy, she works to expand opportunities for women and young musicians - and to create musical experiences that invite people to listen, imagine, and connect.
